1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to, an image processing system including an image processor and user terminals connected over a network, an image processor, and an image processing program.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an image processor, a multiple function peripherals (MFP), for example, including a scanning function for loading scanned image data as an image file in addition to a printing function, has been used recently. Each image processor is not connected with one user terminal only, but connected with a network. In such a case, one image processor is connected with a plurality of user terminals over a network, and image data scanned and loaded by the image processor is transmitted to a desired user terminal.
Examples of such a device are as follows. An image processor described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-46700 (Patent Document 1) converts image information, which has been read, into a PDF file format, and then transmits it to a personal computer designated by an operation unit. The personal computer which received the image information automatically activates the Acrobat, a software, so as to display the image information in a PDF file format on the screen. A scanner device described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-77504 (Patent Document 2) forms a scanned script as an attachment file of an e-mail. A facsimile device described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-32423 (Patent Document 3) additionally transmits e-mail text for decoding the attached file. An e-mail system described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-324574 (Patent Document 4) stores the e-mail title, text and comment corresponding to a destination in advance, and transmits scanned image data to the destination as an attachment file. In a scanned mail transmission system described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-88613 (Patent Document 5), a user prepares and registers, in advance, the e-mail destination, text and subject which are to be accessed at the time of scanning, and transmits image data as an attachment file.
However, a user must return to a user terminal after transmitting image data from an image processor to the user terminal of oneself, and process the image data on the user terminal side. For example, after receiving the image data, the user must prepares the text and the subject of an e-mail on the user terminal side, and transmit the received image data by attaching it to the e-mail, or the user must attach the received image data to a document which has been prepared.
Each of the aforementioned Patent Documents also has a problem similar to that described above as for the related art. For example, the image processor of Patent Document 1 does not obtain information for an application activated on a user terminal, but only displays it on the screen. The push-type scanner device of Patent Document 2 just transmits image data as an attachment file of an e-mail, so the subject and the text of the e-mail cannot be set. The facsimile device of Patent Document 3 only has a feature that information for decoding the attachment file is made as e-mail text, and arbitrary editing is not possible. The e-mail system of Patent Document 4 only has a feature of accessing data registered in advance. The data cannot be changed as needed. In the scanned mail transmission system of Patent Document 5, scanned mail information must be set before using the system. Further, the system only accesses the information which has been prepared before using it, and the information cannot be changed as needed.
As described above, a user, after creating image data in an image processor and transmitting it to a user terminal of oneself, must return to the user terminal and process the received image data by using an application.